1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season explained

The 1986–87 Detroit Red Wings season saw the Red Wings finish in second place in the Norris Division (NHL) with a record of 34 wins, 36 losses, and 10 draws for 78 points, a 38-point improvement from the previous season. They swept the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the opening round, then rallied from a 3–1 deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the division final, before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in five games in the Campbell Conference final. This season marked a turning point for the franchise. After making the playoffs just four times between 1967 and 1986, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only once between 1987 and 2016 (that coming in 1989–90).

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 9, 1986	1–6	@ Quebec Nordiques (1986–87)	0–1–0
2	W	October 11, 1986	4–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	1–1–0
3	L	October 15, 1986	3–4 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1986–87)	1–2–0
4	L	October 17, 1986	3–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87)	1–3–0
5	W	October 18, 1986	5–3	@ Calgary Flames (1986–87)	2–3–0
6	L	October 22, 1986	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1986–87)	2–4–0
7	T	October 24, 1986	1–1 OT	St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	2–4–1
8	W	October 25, 1986	3–1	@ St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	3–4–1
9	W	October 29, 1986	5–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	4–4–1
10	W	October 30, 1986	3–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	5–4–1
11	L	November 1, 1986	0–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	5–5–1
12	W	November 5, 1986	5–4 OT	New York Rangers (1986–87)	6–5–1
13	L	November 8, 1986	1–2 OT	@ New York Islanders (1986–87)	6–6–1
14	W	November 9, 1986	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87)	7–6–1
15	L	November 12, 1986	3–5	@ New Jersey Devils (1986–87)	7–7–1
16	L	November 13, 1986	5–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87)	7–8–1
17	L	November 15, 1986	0–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	7–9–1
18	L	November 19, 1986	3–4	New Jersey Devils (1986–87)	7–10–1
19	T	November 21, 1986	3–3 OT	Washington Capitals (1986–87)	7–10–2
20	W	November 22, 1986	4–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1986–87)	8–10–2
21	L	November 26, 1986	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	8–11–2
22	L	November 28, 1986	1–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	8–12–2
23	W	November 29, 1986	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	9–12–2
24	L	December 2, 1986	4–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1986–87)	9–13–2
25	T	December 5, 1986	3–3 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1986–87)	9–13–3
26	W	December 6, 1986	4–1	@ Hartford Whalers (1986–87)	10–13–3
27	T	December 9, 1986	5–5 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1986–87)	10–13–4
28	T	December 11, 1986	6–6 OT	Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	10–13–5
29	L	December 16, 1986	3–8	@ Calgary Flames (1986–87)	10–14–5
30	W	December 17, 1986	5–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87)	11–14–5
31	T	December 20, 1986	2–2 OT	Hartford Whalers (1986–87)	11–14–6
32	L	December 21, 1986	4–7	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	11–15–6
33	W	December 23, 1986	3–1	Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	12–15–6
34	W	December 26, 1986	4–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	13–15–6
35	T	December 27, 1986	5–5 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	13–15–7
36	W	December 31, 1986	6–4	Calgary Flames (1986–87)	14–15–7
37	W	January 2, 1987	2–1	Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	15–15–7
38	W	January 3, 1987	3–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	16–15–7
39	L	January 6, 1987	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	16–16–7
40	T	January 8, 1987	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1986–87)	16–16–8
41	L	January 10, 1987	2–5	Winnipeg Jets (1986–87)	16–17–8
42	L	January 11, 1987	3–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	16–18–8
43	L	January 13, 1987	3–5	Edmonton Oilers (1986–87)	16–19–8
44	L	January 15, 1987	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	16–20–8
45	W	January 17, 1987	3–2	Quebec Nordiques (1986–87)	17–20–8
46	W	January 18, 1987	1–0	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87)	18–20–8
47	W	January 21, 1987	8–5	New York Islanders (1986–87)	19–20–8
48	W	January 23, 1987	4–3	St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	20–20–8
49	L	January 24, 1987	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	20–21–8
50	L	January 28, 1987	1–2	Washington Capitals (1986–87)	20–22–8
51	W	January 31, 1987	4–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1986–87)	21–22–8
52	L	February 1, 1987	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87)	21–23–8
53	L	February 4, 1987	4–5	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	21–24–8
54	W	February 6, 1987	6–4	Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	22–24–8
55	W	February 7, 1987	5–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	23–24–8
56	W	February 14, 1987	5–1	New Jersey Devils (1986–87)	24–24–8
57	L	February 17, 1987	2–6	@ New York Rangers (1986–87)	24–25–8
58	W	February 18, 1987	5–2	Winnipeg Jets (1986–87)	25–25–8
59	W	February 20, 1987	6–3	Quebec Nordiques (1986–87)	26–25–8
60	T	February 22, 1987	2–2 OT	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	26–25–9
61	L	February 24, 1987	2–8	@ Washington Capitals (1986–87)	26–26–9
62	W	February 26, 1987	5–4	Vancouver Canucks (1986–87)	27–26–9
63	W	February 28, 1987	4–1	New York Rangers (1986–87)	28–26–9
64	W	March 2, 1987	4–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1986–87)	29–26–9
65	L	March 3, 1987	3–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1986–87)	29–27–9
66	W	March 5, 1987	9–3	Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	30–27–9
67	L	March 7, 1987	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	30–28–9
68	L	March 10, 1987	4–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1986–87)	30–29–9
69	L	March 11, 1987	3–6	@ Edmonton Oilers (1986–87)	30–30–9
70	W	March 14, 1987	4–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1986–87)	31–30–9
71	T	March 15, 1987	1–1 OT	@ Winnipeg Jets (1986–87)	31–30–10
72	W	March 17, 1987	3–1	Boston Bruins (1986–87)	32–30–10
73	L	March 19, 1987	2–3	New York Islanders (1986–87)	32–31–10
74	W	March 21, 1987	3–0	Chicago Blackhawks (1986–87)	33–31–10
75	L	March 22, 1987	2–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1986–87)	33–32–10
76	L	March 25, 1987	1–6	Los Angeles Kings (1986–87)	33–33–10
77	W	March 28, 1987	5–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87)	34–33–10
78	L	April 1, 1987	1–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87)	34–34–10
79	L	April 4, 1987	3–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1986–87)	34–35–10
80	L	April 5, 1987	2–3 OT	St. Louis Blues (1986–87)	34–36–10

Playoffs

The Red Wings finished the season 34–36–10, a major improvement over the disastrous 1985–86 campaign. Just missing out on first placein the Norris Division, the Wings faced rival, Chicago in Round One. Detroit stunned the Blackhawks in a 4-game sweep, the franchise's first series victory since 1977–78. In the Norris Finals, Detroit faced another archrival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs jumped out to a 3–1 series lead, but Detroit stormed back, winning the series in seven games, including a 3–0 win in the deciding game.The Red Wings then faced the heavily favored Edmonton Oilers in the Campbell Conference Finals. Detroit took Game One, but theOilers would eventually take the series in five games. Edmonton would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
	C	80	31	59	90	43	-1	9	1	2
	LW	80	38	34	72	216	-5	17	0	4
	D	77	13	45	58	52	14	7	1	2
	W	77	30	23	53	42	-9	6	0	5
	LW/C	80	22	25	47	107	2	1	2	1
	C	76	15	32	47	21	0	4	0	1
	LW	39	12	28	40	6	-2	4	1	1
	LW	35	15	16	31	22	-3	3	1	3
	D	77	5	26	31	70	-25	3	1	0
	D	57	6	21	27	163	-23	4	0	2
	RW	37	13	13	26	49	7	4	0	5
	RW	77	12	14	26	124	-2	0	1	1
	LW	63	13	11	24	221	-6	2	0	0
	RW	77	9	9	18	276	-10	2	0	2
	C	33	6	12	18	6	3	1	0	1
	D	54	1	13	14	129	7	0	0	0
	RW/C	74	3	8	11	49	-4	0	0	0
	D	34	3	6	9	70	-4	1	0	1
	D	58	2	5	7	66	12	0	0	0
	D	24	2	3	5	33	-1	0	0	0
	D	45	1	4	5	73	-7	0	0	0
	D	44	1	4	5	59	-6	0	0	0
	C	13	2	2	4	19	1	0	1	1
	LW	36	2	2	4	193	-3	1	0	1
	G	43	0	4	4	24	0	0	0	0
	C	22	2	1	3	8	0	0	0	0
	C	31	1	2	3	6	-9	0	0	1
	D	11	0	3	3	19	4	0	0	0
	RW	5	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0
	G	5	0	1	1	7	0	0	0	0
	RW	5	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
	D	3	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
	RW	2	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
	G	36	0	0	0	20	0	0	0	0
	RW	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
	LW	8	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
	G	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	2351	43	20	17	3	135	3.45	1	1082	947	.875
	1963	36	11	16	5	104	3.18	1	975	871	.893
	219	5	2	1	0	12	3.29	0	111	99	.892
	342	6	1	2	2	16	2.81	0	135	119	.881
Team:	4875	80	34	36	10	267	3.29	2	2303	2036	.884

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
	C	16	5	13	18	8	1	0	0
	LW	16	8	6	14	43	2	0	0
	LW	16	4	9	13	6	2	0	0
	C	16	4	7	11	6	0	0	1
	LW/C	16	7	2	9	20	0	0	2
	C	16	5	2	7	28	0	1	1
	LW	16	3	4	7	63	1	0	1
	D	12	3	4	7	8	2	0	1
	D	16	1	6	7	31	0	0	1
	RW	16	2	3	5	71	1	0	2
	D	16	1	4	5	14	0	0	0
	D	14	0	4	4	10	0	0	0
	W	13	1	2	3	4	0	0	0
	D	16	0	2	2	14	0	0	0
	D	11	0	2	2	18	0	0	0
	G	9	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
	RW	13	1	0	1	14	0	0	0
	RW	12	0	1	1	16	0	0	0
	D	7	0	1	1	9	0	0	0
	D	2	0	0	0	19	0	0	0
	G	8	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
	RW	8	0	0	0	4	0	0	0
	C	11	0	0	0	11	0	0	0
	RW/C	7	0	0	0	5	0	0	0
	D	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
	467	8	5	2	13	1.67	2	227	214	.943
	508	9	4	5	24	2.83	0	252	228	.905
Team:	975	16	9	7	37	2.28	2	479	442	.923

^[6]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

Detroit's draft picks at the 1986 NHL Entry Draft held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. The Red Wings initially selected Ian Kidd first overall in the 1986 NHL Supplemental Draft, but the claim was invalidated after it was determined Kidd didn't meet eligibility requirements.^[7]

Round		Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	1	Joe Murphy		Michigan State University (CCHA)
2	22	Adam Graves		Windsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)
3	43	Derek Mayer		University of Denver (WCHA)
4	64	Tim Cheveldae		Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5	85	Johan Garpenlov		Nacka HK (Sweden)
6	106	Jay Stark		Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
7	127	Par Djoos		Mora IK (Sweden)
8	148	Dean Morton		Oshawa Generals (OHL)
9	169	Marc Potvin		Stratford Cullitons (WOJBHL)
10	190	Scott King		Vernon Lakers (BCJHL)
11	211	Tom Bissett		Michigan Technological University (WCHA)
12	232	Peter Ekroth		Södertälje SK (Sweden)
S2	5	Rob Doyle		Colorado College (WCHA)

See also

• 1986–87 NHL season

External links

• Web site: 1986–87 Detroit Red Wings Games. Hockey-reference.com . 2009-05-07 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: History.
2. Web site: Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search.
3. Web site: Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search.
4. Web site: Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search.
5. Web site: Schenectady Gazette – Google News Archive Search.
6. Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-02 . 1986-87 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.
7. News: Kings draft Yale star . 8 December 2021 . . September 19, 1986 . Newspapers.com.